1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card game and method of playing a card game. More specifically, the present invention is a modified Blackjack game and method wherein the game includes at least one optional side bet, the outcome of which is dependant on one or more characteristics of a card of a Blackjack hand.
2. Description of the Related Art
A number of United States patents disclose variations of card games. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,897 (issued Nov. 9, 1999) discloses a method for playing a modified form of Blackjack with rules variations to increase the excitement of the game while retaining substantially the same “take.” Specifically, the '897 patent provides, among other things, (i) for a payout of 2:1 for a blackjack of a specified suit; (ii) that five or more cards totaling exactly 21 pays 2:1; (iii) that six cards totaling twenty or more pays 1:1; and (iv) the player may place a “side bet” on getting a blackjack in a designated suit in the first round of a newly shuffled deck, which, if successful, pays 300:1.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,075 (issued Nov. 27, 2001) provides for a “Blackjack-type game” in which each player receives four playing cards arranged in a window, with two of the cards face-up and two of the cards face-down. Wagers are made on at least one and at most three of the six possible different two-card combination of the array, betting against the dealer's hand, which is governed by traditional Blackjack rules. A player forfeits his initial wager in the event that his cards contain a certain predetermined losing hand, whereas a bonus winning payout is made on the initial wager if the player's cards contain a certain predetermined winning hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,767 (issued Mar. 25, 2003) provides a variation of Blackjack wherein a player may make a side bet on a dealer's face up card having a point value of ten and a plurality of side bets relating to a player's first two dealt cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,746 (issued Apr. 12, 2005) discloses a Blackjack game wherein players are afforded the option of exchanging one or more of the players' dealt cards. Each player is given the option of exchanging one or both of an originally dealt two cards for a predetermined fee (e.g., 50% of the initial wager).
U.S. Pat. No. 7,222,854 (issued May 29, 2007) provides a modified Blackjack game in which every player places a first wager, the outcome of which is determined by conventional Blackjack rules. Players may optionally place an additional wager corresponding to a predicted total point value or point value range of an initial hand of two cards dealt to the player. After the dealer has dealt a player that has placed the additional wager a second card, an actual total point value is computed for the two-card hand of that player. If the actual total point value is equal to or in a range of a predicted total point values, a player placing an additional wager wins a predetermined multiple of the amount of the additional wager. A second predetermined multiple may be paid if a player's two card hand includes two cards of the same suit.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,435,172 (issued Oct. 14, 2008) discloses a modification to a card game in which bets are pushed if the total of the cards in the player's and dealer's hands are of equal value and add up to twenty-one or less, or if the total of the cards in the dealer's hand equals a predetermined value between twenty-two and twenty-six and the total of the cards in the
Each of the above-referenced United States patents and/or published applications is hereby incorporated by reference herein.